One of the most exciting drivers of 2009 but I can't see who he's driving for this year? Apparently he's been let go by Renault.....whyyy?

Doesn't surprise me.

His talk of doing his old job at the same time as the Renault one - maybe when you're Michael Schumacher. But when you're a young gun and you don't show 100% commitment to the cause, doesn't surprise me to see him get the can.

No offence but I don't think I'll miss him. Sure he's extremely quick, but perhaps not F1 quick.
EDIT: Good point by Potmotr, he really never had enough time in the car in the first place. Not his fault but there's no room for sympathy in this game sadly.

I'm pretty sure Grosjean will blow-off Kobayashi in ANY type of car. He certainly did it for a year constantly in ASM. Even D'Ambrosio did it for 2 years to Kobayashi... and he's the 4th(!?) driver at Renault.

He didn't get a fair chance. In GP2 in particular, he showed some real pace but 2009 will go down as his worst year of his life.

Dominated GP2 Asia as a rookie and effectively destroyed Luca Filippi's smooth career path at ART, things started so well. Even more so at the first two GP2 race meetings of 2009 until his Monaco shunt which seriously knocked his confidence. From there, it was dominance to mistakes at every meeting. His lap one at Turkey was appalling as was his needless qualifying collision in Hungary. It started to fall apart.

So he took the Renault seat just as they were in the middle of what is thus far, and probably in all of their time in F1, their darkest period. Rubbish car, sponsors jumping ship and total management shuffle. Oh, and no testing.

How was he supposed to settle down?

I think had he done like Petrov/Hulkenberg, and start from the beginning of the year and with testing mileage, I'm sure he'd be far more impressive in many more eyes.

As it is, unfortunately, he appears finished. Even if he goes back to GP2 and dominates, F1 will still not be interested. The same happened to Giorgio Pantano when he drove for Jordan in 2004.

As Mark Hughes wrote recently, some drivers have stellar junior careers and don't handle the pressure of F1.

Some have fairly average junior careers and thrive in F1.

Grosjean and Kobayashi represent the two opposite ends of the spectrum.

I dont think either of them have 'proven' their success/failure in F1 just yet. Neither have really had a full shot at the gig yet.

I'd like to see Grosjean get another shot. I'd certainly look at him if I were a team owner(and had an experienced driver onboard already). I dont think its a certainty that he'd do well if given the right opportunity and preparation, but he's definitely got the potential.

Grosjean did nothing to suggest he was anything special, and F1 is a sport where first impressions count. In retrospect it was probably the wrong career decision to accept the vacant Renault seat mid-season, but I suppose you have to take such opportunities when they arrive... I think Grosjean will ultimately be another Montagny; a driver of obvious ability who had a few races in which they neither disgraced themselves not set the world alight, and as such faded from F1 history. At the end of the day he can proudly tell his kids one day that their dad used to be a Formula 1 racing driver. And he'll probably do alright in another series.

I'm pretty sure Grosjean will blow-off Kobayashi in ANY type of car. He certainly did it for a year constantly in ASM. Even D'Ambrosio did it for 2 years to Kobayashi... and he's the 4th(!?) driver at Renault.

hahahaha

And by the same comparison Frentzen would have dominated Michael Schumacher in F1, didn't really happen. Different cars, different performances. F1 cars suit Kobi-San more than GP2 cars somehow.

And by the same comparison Frentzen would have dominated Michael Schumacher in F1, didn't really happen. Different cars, different performances. F1 cars suit Kobi-San more than GP2 cars somehow.

Even so, enough of the Kobayashi hype already please... Reminds me of the Kubica hype in 2008 based on a few decent performances. Let's not get carried away at this stage, I have serious doubts whether Kamui will make a success of it over a whole season...

He didn't get a fair chance. In GP2 in particular, he showed some real pace but 2009 will go down as his worst year of his life.

Dominated GP2 Asia as a rookie and effectively destroyed Luca Filippi's smooth career path at ART, things started so well. Even more so at the first two GP2 race meetings of 2009 until his Monaco shunt which seriously knocked his confidence. From there, it was dominance to mistakes at every meeting. His lap one at Turkey was appalling as was his needless qualifying collision in Hungary. It started to fall apart.

So he took the Renault seat just as they were in the middle of what is thus far, and probably in all of their time in F1, their darkest period. Rubbish car, sponsors jumping ship and total management shuffle. Oh, and no testing.

How was he supposed to settle down?

I think had he done like Petrov/Hulkenberg, and start from the beginning of the year and with testing mileage, I'm sure he'd be far more impressive in many more eyes.

As it is, unfortunately, he appears finished. Even if he goes back to GP2 and dominates, F1 will still not be interested. The same happened to Giorgio Pantano when he drove for Jordan in 2004.

I think Growjohn was pretty unlucky, in that he didn't really get to prove himself, but F1 is brutal sometimes in that sense, in that type of situation you gotta perform straight out of the box and obviously it didn't work out that way for Roman.

I'm pretty sure Grosjean will blow-off Kobayashi in ANY type of car. He certainly did it for a year constantly in ASM. Even D'Ambrosio did it for 2 years to Kobayashi... and he's the 4th(!?) driver at Renault.

And what?

Kobayashi got it done when he had the chance. Two great races, and the part that really stood out for me wsa when Peter Sauber said that Kobayashi demonstrated the ability to implement a strategy throughout a race - important for 2010.

What matters is not what you do in lower formula but what you do when given a rare chance at F1, and as it happens Kobayashi was far more impressive than any of the rookies in 2009.

Grosjean was up against Alonso, fair enough, but he did his best to keep it off the track rather than on it ;-)! He was erratic in GP2 and he was worse in F1.

Kobayashi got it done when he had the chance. Two great races, and the part that really stood out for me wsa when Peter Sauber said that Kobayashi demonstrated the ability to implement a strategy throughout a race - important for 2010.

What matters is not what you do in lower formula but what you do when given a rare chance at F1, and as it happens Kobayashi was far more impressive than any of the rookies in 2009.

Exactly. You don't get many chances in F1 so when you do, you have to take them. It's unfortunate that so many talented drivers will suffer because they fail to make a good first impression, but that's the way it is. Kobayashi happened to make a great first impression and so got the reward for it ; a drive in 2010 and the preseason testing to help him get used to the F1 environment.

C'mon guys he wasn't that bad he deserves another chance to show what he's made of

agree.

romain did well in the feeder series, and might well have taken last years GP2 title. and honestly, which GP2 driver would pass the opportunity when is being offered a formula1 seat, even halfway in the season.

that said, the decision did not pay off for him. he was paired with a driver considered the best of all by many, in a dog of car. the chance to shine was quite low form the beginning on. add the crashgate affair, and renaults following clean cut of the past, and it was clear that grosjean was in trouble.

a truly wasted talent. i truly hope he gets the chance to perform well in other series, to restore his reputation and maybe get another shot at F1 in the future.

Watch from 2:35Throwing Button off track >result> ALG need to go wide because of that and therefore he crashed into Hamilton. All thanks to this GROSJEAN talent. Spa 2009 was just an example. Sorry I feel he creates more than just a spin here and there, he creates crashes and is not F1 worthy.

Yes he was decent when he first came on the scene. Rough and reckless at times but you could see the potential. However, his performances had the inverse trajectory compared to most upcoming drivers: his became medicore with time instead of improving. Whatever the circumstances, the opportunity to drive in F1 was precious, and he did not impress there either.

As with all failed drivers (Piquet, Wurz, Speed) I am sure there will be plenty of excuses explanations for RG's lackadaisical driving.

Yes he was decent when he first came on the scene. Rough and reckless at times but you could see the potential. However, his performances had the inverse trajectory compared to most upcoming drivers: his became medicore with time instead of improving. Whatever the circumstances, the opportunity to drive in F1 was precious, and he did not impress there either.

As with all failed drivers (Piquet, Wurz, Speed) I am sure there will be plenty of excuses explanations for RG's lackadaisical driving.

Nice summary of Grosjeans GP2 experience.

He was quick out the box, but his erratic behavoir never got any calmer. He was still making mistakes which you'd expect rookies to make. He struggled to pull of a good weekend. Maybe 1 good race but never really a complete weekend like the Hulk managed.